


Little Red Riding Hood

by cloudnine



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, im really not sure what to tag?, what is canon, what is context
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-27 15:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6289753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudnine/pseuds/cloudnine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not an actual retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Red Riding Hood

"I'll be fine, Alfred." 

The worried old eyes of the butler watched as the young knight wrapped himself in the red cloak passed down to him by his parents. Every time the boy wore the hood over his head the man got reminded on how much he looked like his parents, and how he was the only descendant of the Geneolgia family alive. It pained him to see how careless the boy was with his life. 

"I understand, I know you're a capable boy of age but that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't be careful. This is your first time going on a trip like this, especially at night."

Yew scoffs as he adjusts his outfit. How many times have they gone through this? He's old enough to do this. "I'll be back before you know it." He reassures the man for the fifth time that night. 

The boy was too determined to do this which makes the older caretaker finally sigh and give up, handing the boy the basket with medicine and treats. 

"Remember everything I have told you, young master. Do not stop for anything, do not get distracted. Most important of all," 

Yew swears he hears howling in the distance when the man ushers those words.

"Do not stray from the path. Take the shortcut and stay there, pass through it as fast as you can. Once you're out of Pilgrim's Grove you'll be safe, the forest is the most dangerous place around here."

The boy rolls his eyes. "I know, Alfred. You've all been telling me this for years, I think I understand well enough."

He takes the basket, makes sure everything is inside and walks to the door. He glances one last time at his caring butler, the worried face intact as he opens the door and lets the cold air in, giving him goosebumps.

"Don't worry, Alfred. I have my sword with me." He moves the cloak back to show him the rapier on his hip. "I'll be back tomorrow in one piece. Onward!" He announces enthusiastically as he descends down the road of the village to the forest. The butler sticks to the door watching the boy until he sees the red cloak disappear. 

He truly hopes the boy will not meet with a cruel fate. 

* * *

He understood Alfred was worried about him but he seemed to still think of him as a child, which Yew didn't like. He was prepared to do this, he was raised and trained to help Her Holiness no matter what. If he was the only one who could do this then he would rise to the action. It was an honor that he finally had the chance to meet her in person.

As it seems Her Holiness had come down with a fever. It was wished by every knight that they would have their chance to help her, and this was Yew's. He wouldn't deny the request for anything in the world, even if it meant going though the forest at night alone.

When he reached the fork on Pilgrim's Grove he gave a gasp.

This wasn't what he was expecting at all. Nobody told him the shortcut meant going through a bridge. This was bad. He had never told anyone for fear of looking weak but...he was afraid of heights. The bridge looked to rickety, the thought of it breaking while he went through it invaded his mind and he couldn't do it. Even after all the warnings his caretakers have given him, he can't go through it.

The other path seemed darker but there was no bridge. He knows people have told him the other path was out of limits but he preferred the danger of monsters to going through the bridge. Monsters he could take care of, he had his rapier. He would be fine.

He hoped.

That hope was big enough that he walked to the other path, the one he's been told since he was young to not go through. Nobody ever told him why, somehow the curiosity of what was beyond this forest followed him. What was so dangerous about it? He understood people would prefer the other path since it's faster, but to him no bridge to go through was the safest. 

The trees were different here, they looked like claws wanting to hurt and take Yew away. He gulped. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.

What was he thinking? He looked at the basket in his hand. He was an Orthodoxy Knight, he was Yew Geneolgia. He could do this. 

He holds his head high, fully aware of his surroundings. If anything attacked him he would throw his basket and get in battle stance, his safety was the most important thing in a dangerous situation. 

Luckily no such thing had happened and everything was going fine. Occasionally he would step on a branch that would make him jump but it was just that, a branch. No monsters had attacked him yet. This wasn't so bad at all. 

And the scenery was beautiful. After some time those claw looking trees were actually quite eerie and against the light of the moon they looked astounding. He wasn't regretting picking this route at all, it wasn't bad to have to walk a few more steps if he had this beautiful setting around him.

While he walks he opens the basket to check the home cooked cakes. Completely intact, and the medicine was still freshly placed inside its bottles. All was well. 

That is until he heard the sound of rustling and movement which makes him turn his head quickly to see if there was something behind him. Nothing. He sighs, maybe he was being paranoid. He swore he heard someone walking along behind him. 

He was right. When he feels a tail like thing brush up against his legs almost up to his back he gasps, already grabbing a hold of his sword. It felt like a cat had brushed themselves against him, but it felt too big to be a cat's tail. It was definitely a tail, he was sure of that.

"Stop getting so jumpy, kid." 

He does jump when he hears that deep voice. He turns to the source of it and finds a strange man standing besides him. The tail he had felt before was once again rubbing his legs and he jumps, moving away from the man. He hears a mocking laugh before the man steps closer to him where there is more light and Yew finally gets a good look at the man...creature?

He was a man all right. He looked not much older than Yew, his piercing red eyes and clean neat face showing this. The large coat looked like the ones they used except it held no insignia. What was the most strange was the long dark mane with pointed ears, the furred claws and feet and the large tail moving behind him.

A wolf.

"You-" Yew holds on tighter to the basket and prepared to unsheathe his sword. "What do you want?"

The wolf obviously spoke his language if he had responded to him before. He had never seen a wolf but he had heard about them. He didn't think there were any in Pilgrim's Grove though.

"Hey relax, no need to use that." He points to the rapier. "I'm not trying to hurt you or scare you."

Yew blinks. Could he trust him? He's not sure but he lets go of the sword and gives the man a skeptical glance. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm telling the truth and I don't lie." He snaps. That tone didn't sound very pleasant, but maybe the man just spoke like that.

Yew lays down his guard for a while as the wolf paces around him. He hears the boy sniff and touch his clothes. His heart thumps loudly when the man gets close to his neck and smells him.

"H-Hey! What's with the smelling?"

The wolf gives him a glance. "I'm just checking you out now that you're so close. There's something I've been smelling that is really sweet coming from you, but it doesn't seem to be you even if your scent is..."

He doesn't continue and Yew gulps. Wait. He's been smelling him all this time, from afar? He didn't think wolves really had such a keen sense of smell. That meant he's probably been watching him and stalking him all this time.

He didn't like this. He felt like he was prey.

The tail wraps itself on one of his legs when the man starts touching his basket and opening it. He doesn't stop him when he takes one of the cakes out.

"Ah, so this is what smells so sweet." He grins and Yew can see the sharp fangs behind his lips. 

"They're for a friend, but you can take one if you want." He says seriously and the wolf raises an eyebrow.

"No thanks, if you thought bribing me with human food would make me leave you alone you're wrong."

"But I wasn't bribing you. I thought you would like it."

He sounds so honest that the wolf has to furrow his eyebrows. "Yeah right, don't tell me you came to this path to make friends. In fact," He places the sweet back in the basket and touches Yew's hood with his sharp nail. "Why _did_ you enter this route?"

"I-well..." Yew swallows the lump in his throat but finally gives in to stop those piercing eyes from glaring at him. "I thought this would be better for me since the other one has a bridge..."

The wolf shrugs. "Yeah so, what's so bad about a bridge?"

"I'm...scared of heights." He mutters, pulling the hood over his head lower. He sees the wolf grin. This is the first time he has told anyone he's scared of heights, and it was to a wolf.

"What? No way. Why would you be? Is that really the only reason you came through here?"

Yew nods and the wolf almost laughs in his face.

"That's rich! You're seriously an idiot then. Don't you know there are creatures like me around here?"

"I do now." He replies, probably way too calm for the situation he's in.

"Well you should be careful, especially because it's rare for a human to walk around here and when they do everyone wants a bite of them. Your basket's smell and your own scent attracts all kinds of creatures. Including me." He smirks.

Yew's turns his head away in embarrassment. "Okay then, you found me. What do you want?"

The wolf stares at him for a long while before a glint appears in those sharp eyes and Yew feels his throat clench.

He suddenly feels the wolf's tail moving upwards and brushing his lower back. He shivers. 

The man makes a biting noise. "A bite, if you please."

"W-What? You want to eat me?" He merely responds, holding tight to his body. The wolf laughs, the noise almost sounding like a loud roar.

"Something like that." He just says as he scratches his head. Those paws looked nothing like Yew had ever seen before, but the boy's long hair and pointed eyebrows reminded him of someone he knew.

His thoughts are stopped when the loud growl of other creatures interrupt them. He sees the wolf tense and his own body goes stiff. More wolves? Or monsters? They didn't sound very friendly and the serious look the boy held now showed he didn't seem to be on good terms with them either. The wolf growls and stomps his foot loudly, making Yew flinch.

"Go away you filthy heathens! He's mine." Yew blinks and he feels that blood is rushing to his head. Was this the end for him? He couldn't take on those creatures all by himself, and even if the boy helped him he was still going to want to eat him later. There was no winning this.

He feels a soft hand touch his face and his eyes go wide. 

"Run." 

Yew blinks in confusion but the solemn gaze the wolf was giving him was enough so he does. He grabs a hold of his basket and starts running to the exit. He wasn't sure if he was close or not but he knew this was better than staying put.

Did that mean the wolf boy had let him free? He's not sure, but he's still graceful for helping him instead of taking him forcefully. 

He reminded him way too much of an old friend in Al-Khampis, the only person who ever stood up for him when the other kids bullied him, that is until the boy disappeared and never showed up again. He looked so much like him too.

Yew runs as fast as he can, his feet sore from stepping over twigs and rocks. The roars and sound of fighting only gave him more adrenaline. He knew he should have never taken this route, but if he hadn't he wouldn't have met that familiar boy. He grimaces at the fact that there is no sight of this path ending, the exit seeming so far. 

Suddenly, he hears a pained howl that stops him in his tracks. That had to be the boy. Was he taking on those monsters by himself? All so they didn't follow him? 

He couldn't leave him alone, he would probably get himself killed. He curses at himself for his forgiving nature, even if the wolf said he wanted to eat him he didn't hurt him. Deep down, he felt he couldn't leave him behind. He didn't want to do that again, even if he wasn't the same person.

After a long while of retracing his steps he finally reaches the spot where he had met the wolf. He winces at the fact that he was nowhere to be found. When the noises had stopped he was worried it meant the wolf had been killed, but there was no sign of the monsters either.

He finally meets eyes with someone laying on the dirt and he rushes to his side. It was the wolf, he was bleeding and had scratches all over his face and body. 

"H-Hey, hey! Are you all right?" He picks the man's head and places it on his lap. Pushing back the man's bangs he realized his ears had bite marks. How could they do such a thing to a member of their same species?

The man coughs and opens his eyes a bit wider to look at the boy. "It's you. Didn't I tell you to run." His coughing turns worse, soon turning into a fit. Yew helps into a sitting position to let the blood out.

"I couldn't leave you knowing this would happen. Why did you take them on?"

The wolf tries to regain his voice. "It was either that or they would follow you. It's fine. I gave them enough of their own wounds that they finally retreated. I made sure they wouldn't follow you."

Yew feels his face twist in worry. "All of this for me? Why? Do you really want a meal so badly?"

The man gives a weak laugh. "No...it's deeper than that. You wouldn't understand."

Yew's not sure what he means by that but he opens his basket and takes one of the potions out.

"Here, I have some medicine." He opens the bottle and places it on the wolf's hand.

The boy's eyebrows furrow. "Weren't those things for your friend?"

"They were but," He takes a deep breathe. "You helped me so I have to help you."

The wolf isn't sure what to say, apparent by his perplexed look. He finally gives in and takes the bottle, chugging it down in one quick motion.

"It won't completely heal your wounds in the long run but it's something, it'll stop your wounds for hurting now."

The wolf already feels energy returning to him so he moves to a better position, the boy letting go off him but still kneeling besides him. He hated having those blue eyes gazing at him with such care. He always has.

"Thanks." He responds nonchalantly, rubbing his nose. 

"No, thanks to you. You saved me. I felt I had to repay you somehow."

The boy gazes at him all the while but he can't look at him so he checks his wounds and marks on his arm. His ears had been bitten as well. He probably had a black eye but he felt nothing. Those potions did work.

They stay quiet for a while, Yew letting the other boy relax his body. He still wasn't fully cured, he doesn't want him doing anything reckless, even if he's not sure how wolves work. Did they cure faster than humans?

He bits his lip as he stares at the wolf's ears, he was still staring at his scars strangely deep in thought. Only he knows what he was thinking of.

"Why," He moves closer to the wolf boy and when he extends his hands to his check his ears he lets him. Yew is pleased that he does. "Why would they do this to you?"

"I've always been a lone wolf." The boy's voice is strangely quieter and softer. "I don't get well with them."

As Yew touches his ears he notices the wolf stiffen but makes no complaint to stop him. His cheeks were strangely flushed.

"Does this hurt?" He says as he pinches the tip of one of his ears. The wolf winces. 

"What was that for!? Yeah, it hurts."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Yew starts petting his ear to try and soothe the pain away. The wolf's face just gets warmer, his tail moving without reason. "I just wanted to check if the potion had taken it's complete effects yet."

The wolf pushes his hand away when he touches the lowest part of his ears. "Stop that! I'm not your pet." 

Yew blinks at the boy's visible blush. He had a scowl but his face gave out embarrassment more than anger. He looked...cute.

"You know," The wolf boy gazes as Yew gives him a nostalgic look, his past determined face now turned somber. He's not ready for the words that soon later come.

"You kind of remind me of a boy I used to know long ago. He was my best friend when were younger, but then he left. Without a word. I...miss him a lot."

The wolf stares at the boy in shock before turning his face away. He should have  _never_ gone through this route. 

Yew opens his mouth in confusion when the wolf suddenly stands up. He soon follows, wondering if the wolf was going to leave him.

Suddenly he feels strong arms grab his legs and back.

"Hey!" He shouts when the boy picks him up. "You're already feeling fine?"

The wolf rolls his eyes at Yew's preoccupation. He didn't care about the fact that he just started carrying him for no reason, no, he cared about knowing if he was already doing fine. Yew really was something else, he's always known.

"You said you'd repay me, right? And yeah, you don't weight that much. No biggie."  

Yew holds on to the boy's lean shoulders and his eyes fall on the boy's face. He looked too much like him. The long curls were just like him, only his hair was a different color. His sharp eyes and eyebrows only furthered this. 

But his fangs and hairy hands said otherwise. This was a wolf, a monster. Why was he letting him take him like this? 

He knows why.

"So, what? You want me to repay you by letting you eat me?" He smirks but deep down he feels fear. He's still not sure what that entitled. 

There's a furtive glance to a certain direction by the boy, his eyes determined. "I'm gonna take you to the exit."

Yew stares at him sightly disappointed. Was that it? He could do that by himself, why did he feel the need to carry him there? He was the one hurt, not him.

"I can do that by myself."

"You don't know where the exit is, I do; So shut up and hold tight."

He pouts at the boy's stubbornness but doesn't fight him when he starts walking down the dark path. It seemed to get darker as the night went by and Yew felt he almost even lost sight of the boy's face. The wolf seemed to be used to it, his eyes probably worked differently than his.

As they walk he stays silent and the wolf does to. Yew has so many questions but he's not sure what to say, he's worried the boy will just dismiss him and get angry. He was determined to learn more about him though.

"You could have just told me to follow you. My legs work fine. You're the one hurt."

"I'm fine." He merely replies, not actually answering the question. Yew sighs because he knew the boy wouldn't tell him anything. 

He feels sleep get to him as he lays in the boy's arms and he tries to push it away. It probably was later than it was supposed to be, if he had taken the bridge he'd already be in Her Holiness's home. The calm atmosphere and occasional sound of a frog slowly ushers him to sleep. He told himself it was only a nap, the boy wouldn't do anything to him. He was fine.

* * *

He wakes up to the softness of fur on his cheeks. When he finally opens his eyes he realized it was the wolf's hand on his face. 

"Wake up, sleepyhead. We're here."

He gradually opens his eyes to find himself outside the forest, the trees long gone and the castle in the distance. It seemed so strange to see remnants of civilization after some time. 

The wolf lets him down and he fixes his hood and outfit. The basket had scratches but the items inside seemed intact, only one bottle was empty. It feels like he had forgotten what his mission was.

"Thank you..." He turns to the wolf who is already beginning to leave and walk back into the forest. What was the rush? Couldn't he leave and go with him?

"You wanted me to repay you, I don't...think I did." 

The wolf scratches his nose. "You did by not complaining. Anyways, I'll...see you."

Yew's eyes go wide in panic. "Wait!" He moves to stop the boy by grabbing onto his jacket. The wolf just gives him a solemn look, strangely tragic.

"Why do you have to go back? I don't mind if you come with me. Why don't you? I'm off to meet Her Holiness."

The wolf blinks at the boy's questions and Yew can see his hands close into fits. "You don't get it. I can't. You better leave before I make you."

"But why? Why can't you tell me?"

The loud growl on his face he expected, even if it still made him flinch.

"Because I'm not like you anymore!"

Yew's hand goes to his mouth, his eyes watering. What did that mean? Was he really...

When the wolf hears his name being muttered by the only friend he ever had he feels like running away again.

" _Janne?"_

Instead he chuckles, Yew still looking at him with his big, pleading blue eyes. 

"I'm not Janne anymore."

Yew can't even grasp onto his robe when the wolf suddenly escapes, running into the forest again. 

"Wait! Janne!" There's nothing else he could do and he knew it, even if he went into Pilgrim's Grove again to look for him he wouldn't find him. He feels his knees weak, even more so than before. All this time he knew he was the boy he reminded him so much of, the only person who ever stood up for him. His first friend in Al-Khampis. What had happened to him? Is this why he left and never returned?

Yew feels like crying. He wanted to help him.

But he knew he had other duties, a mission he had been denying too long. If this was a ranked mission he would have failed. He hoped Her Holiness was doing fine. 

He slowly makes his way to the castle as he fights back tears.

He wouldn't let Janne stay like that. Someday, he would fine him again and help him. 

**Author's Note:**

> i want to write a sequel or a different darker version where Janne actaully "eats" Yew but...I'm a sap lol


End file.
